Save Georgia Hospitals

On your watch, six of Georgia’s rural hospitals have already closed due to lack of funding. And dozens more are on life support, leaving tens of thousands of Georgians at risk of losing immediate access to health care.

We demand that you STOP blocking the federal Medicaid dollars that Georgia taxpayers have already paid and expand Medicaid now.”

With six rural hospitals closing since 2012 and dozens more hanging by a thread, we are facing a “Third World nation” system of medical care in parts of Georgia.

Gov. Deal and the state legislature could stop this crisis with the stroke of a pen.

The solution is to stop sending Georgia’s tax dollars to other states and finally accept the federal money for Medicaid expansion. Doing so would provide health care for 600,000 uninsured Georgians, add $35 billion to Georgia’s economy over ten years and create 50,000 new healthcare jobs.

A hospital closure is a tragedy for the entire community that it serves. Jobs are lost. Residents are forced to travel long distances in health emergencies when every minute matters. Businesses don’t want to invest in towns without healthcare, so a hospital closure brings the economic engine of an entire community to a halt.

Having a functional hospital system is a matter of life and death--both economically and literally. Georgia cannot afford another hospital closure, but we need real leadership to save our failing healthcare system.